Wednesday, September 26, 2012

IExamen- Tyler Murray

The day I chose to do my self-analysis/observation was last
Saturday. I was really sick and slept until 2 p.m. even though I went to sleep
at 10 the night before. I woke up to my roommate and 4 of my friends barging in
through the door laughing and yelling which put me in a great mood to start the
day. I forced myself awake, threw on a hoodie with no undershirt, and started
walking to Boulder. Based on my wardrobe, facial expression, and heavy steps I
was taking, the public should have taken notice that this was not the day to
mess with me. Even in my Dayquil stupor, I smiled at the majority of people
that I passed, said hey to those that I recognized, and helped a girl pick up
her package off the concrete. No matter what condition I am in, I always use
humor as a method of communicating with people. It helps me feel more relaxed
and connect with others. To be honest, I’m amazed that I paid as much attention
to my day as I did.

Though this
day was not normal considering how sick I was, the majority of my behavior did
not change. My personality is a contradiction because I consider myself a shy,
outgoing person. Most of the time, I will not go out of my way to talk to
someone I have just met but if they engage me first, I have no problem having a
conversation. I’m far from socially awkward and very friendly but sometimes I
may not convey that through my body language or tone of voice. This day was a
perfect example of that.

I was
wearing a hoodie, lacrosse shorts, and moccasins with socks. I looked like I had
gotten dressed in the dark, which I did. By wearing a hood for the majority of
the day, I physically limited my peripheral vision. Therefore, I did not see a
lot of the people that I passed around campus. Also I was looking down at my
phone for the majority of my time outside of my room because I’m constantly
writing down song ideas and lyrics. Even when I feel like crap, writing still
comes easily to me and makes me feel better.

Other than
writing in the notes app in my phone, I rarely use it. I don’t hate technology
but I think it detracts from the importance of face-to-face conversation. I
noticed how many people hold on to their phones like it’s the pin to a grenade
and check them even in the middle of a conversation. I always thought it was
rude to do that. The main reason I was able to see how many people were
constantly on their phones is because I was not constantly on my phone. The
majority of communication today is through technology because it is easy and
widespread. Seeing girls go up to one another and say, “did you get my text?”
They then react to that text and spend the rest of their conversation scrolling
through Twitter and Facebook.

I didn’t
struggle at all when I separated myself from all electronics because, if you
can’t tell, they don’t play a significant part in my life. The only downside
was that I couldn’t listen to music so I went and played piano which is the
next best thing. My main method of communication is through my music. My most
personal, honest words are written in my red notebook, on my phone, or six
strings. That’s not to say that the rest of the ways I communicate are less
important or truthful. I just feel like my music and music in general is the
most important, significant form of communication there is.

This exercise
made me realize how many ways of communication there are and how unaware I was
of the majority of my own ways of communication. Whether its my clothing or
telling people that I’m never on Facebook, communication definitely impacts my
life.